Duke Hyou
'''Duke Hyou' was a Great General of Qin and the leader of Duke Hyou Army. He was an Instinctual General, who use crude tactics and striking after upsetting the battlefield with his use of infantry. Appearance Duke Hyou had a warrior's build, white hair, and large grey eyes that many called ferocious and beast-like. He has a long mustache and styled his beard into three long goatees. The Duke wears a red cloak on his golden armor and wields a glaive along with a spike rimmed shield. His teeth were very sharp too. Personality Duke Hyou is known as a battle-thirsty, ruthless man who freely sacrifices the lives of soldiers for the sake of victory. He displays his intuitive instincts as he realizes the objective of Go Kei forcing the fight to the Dakan Plains and states that the field is where Wei war chariots are most effective. He is a bold general as he leads his men on a charge against the Go Kei Army. From his point of view, war is seen as a great blazing fire and he strikes when that fire reaches the height of its strength. He respects opponents who are strong and give him a good fight as he says Go Kei showed a most impressive blaze in the end. In his fight against Go Kei, he mocks the Wei general for not having "the blood of a warrior" and calls him a loser for his inability to let go of the bitterness from his past. He also has a relaxed and joyous side, as he is seen partying alongside the Hi Shin Unit the night after Shin killed Man Goku and forced Ou Ki to have a drink with him after the victory of Dakan Plains. Having no children of his own, he began to treat Shin as a protege of sorts on the battlefield prior to his death. History According to Duke Hyou himself, he was born on the battlefield. He proceeded to grow up there too. His successful career earned him the attention of King Sho, who sent Duke Hyou numerous summons to return to Kanyou. He ignored each and every one of them. He had no need for glamorous light or dream-like the Six Great Generals. From what he could see, the six of them were people who were pursuing a dream, who set foot onto the battlefield to chase after some sweet dream and that resonated together with the dream of the "War God" King Sho, to emit a fierce strength. But for him it was different. For the Duke, the battlefield is his home, and to live is to wage war. So long as he could fight on the battlefield, emerge victoriously, and have delicious wine to sip during the night, then he was completely satisfied. For these reasons, he did not become a member of Qin's Six Great Generals as he wasn't interested. Story Keiyou Campaign Arc Duke Hyou lead an army of 150,000 to invade the neighboring state of Wei with the goal of capturing the city of Keiyou. He split the army into 6 separate divisions before they reached the Wei border. Upon hearing the word of the Wei army's advance from Keiyou to Asui, he told his officers of Go Kei's goal and changed his plan to meet the Wei forces on the Dakan Plains to do battle. Duke Hyou started the Battle at Dakan Plains by placing his headquarters near the plains after moving out from Asui Castle, and when word reached him of the Wei war chariots had completely overrun the 4th army's infantry, he told the cavalry units to continue holding their positions. Catching on to the chance made by remnants of the 4th army infantry, he signals the 4th army cavalry to relieve them. While the 4th cavalry was overrunning the Wei infantry, Duke Hyou sent out the 1st and 2nd army cavalry to the Kyuu Gen's hill camp where the 4th Qin army was currently engaged. With Go Kei's army emerging from the plains, the Duke took to the field, leading a devastating charge with 5,000 Qin cavalry into the Wei army. Donning a war mask, Duke Hyou worked himself into a berserk-like frenzy that ignites his men and makes them an unstoppable force as they continue charging towards the Wei great general, smashing through two Wei formations. Rampaging through Wei armored infantry, Duke Hyou and his men continue on their path, until Go Kei sent out his war chariots to grind down their numbers. The Duke notices this but continued on with his attack. After assistance from Heki's cavalry unit arrived, Duke Hyou had his men aid in the pincer attack on the Wei chariot unit to his left. When he arrived at Go Kei's HQ, he killed Shu Ki with a single stroke after breaking past the Wei army's last defensive line. Coming face to face with Go Kei. The two Great Generals proceed to duel each other, exchanging blows with the Duke coming out the winner every time. He mocked Go Kei for whining over his bitter past, stating that, "If you are a general focus on how to defeat the enemy army!! There should be nothing else that occupies your heart!!" With that, he cut down Go Kei and destroyed the Wei morale. As the Wei troops retreated back to their state, Duke Hyou noticed Ou Ki and chatted with him, asking him to come to drink to their victory at Asui. He then announced that the Qin army was going home, stating that, "there is no task more difficult than attempting to immediately re-ignite a fire that has been extinguished." Battle of Bayou Arc During the Han Campaign lead by Mou Gou, Duke Hyou was stationed at the front lines of the Qin-Wei border to keep a close eye on them, because they were seeking a chance to retaliate for the Keiyou Campaign. Alliance Arc Duke Hyou was stationed in Asui. He along with Great General Mou Gou were nominated as potential candidates for leading the Sanyou Campaign. Heki was sent to Asui to ask the Duke for his opinion. Sanyou Campaign Arc In order to prevent the Chu from attacking Qin during the Sanyou Campaign, Duke Hyou, Chou Tou and Mou Bu were stationed at the Qin/Chu border. Coalition Invasion Arc Duke Hyou was first seen leading an army of 10,000 against the Wei army of 100,000 under the command of Go Hou Mei. As the Wei were moving to trap him in a Pincer Formation using War Chariots, they were saved due to the arrival of the Hi Shin Unit who co-ordinated with his troops to stave off the attack. As the Wei began to used Ryudoryoku, the Duke had all the troops halt their attack stating that "something ahead smelled extremely off." and had them retreat instead. He then commented on Go Hou Mei's skill, saying he had thought that Wei no longer possessed any noteworthy generals and realized that Go Hou Mei's HQ reeked of no ordinary strategy. He then told his troops that their HQ's fire was growing dim so they went back to save them. Later that night, the Duke met with Shin and thanked him for his assistance before explaining the significance of the invasion. After this, he asked Shin to accompany him and battle the Wei in hopes of stopping their advance. On the fourth day of combat, Duke Hyou sent word to the Hi Shin Unit to take the Shourai Mountain Paths and then strike the enemy in their flank. When the Zhao army arrived, Duke Hyou had his men retreat to Chuukou. Later on, Duke Hyou and Qin's six other Great General class generals were called to Kanyou. They were told that they would need every last measure of military strength available to combat the Coalition Army of 500,000 men and Shou Hei Kun then explained the strategy he had in mind. Just before the Battle of Kankoku Pass started Duke Hyou interrupt the speech of Rin Bu Kun by screaming CHARGE!!! and attacked the Zhao army in front of him. After he charged into the Zhao army he notices that the battlefield had no “stench” so he reshuffled his men and charged again. When he noticed an army to his left in the distance movements he charged over there. At this moment the Zhao Commander in Chief Kei Sha sent the Man Goku Army to attack the Duke Hyou Army rear who were exhausted from the first charge. When he noticed that Shin saved the rear he commends him and laughed at the thought that the person who inherited Ou Ki's Glaive is an Instinctual type like him. He then had Kai Dou reorganize their formation and set his eyes back at Kei Sha in the back. When he finally was close enough to Keisha he retreated because the sun had set. Later that evening Duke Hyou personally came to congratulate Shin for his performance on the 1st day by offering him a drink. He then reinforces him for his loses and gave him an addition 1000 and told him now isn’t the time for meaningless melancholy and to evolve in this war. On the 2nd day, he just stayed at his HQ and observed the small clashes he would stay there until the 15th Day. After ordering the Hi Shin Unit to take a breather he played a prank on Shin by handing him wine instead of water and tells him to cool his head and pay attention to his unit remaining strength. When Shin asked for the situation for the whole battlefield Duke Hyou said he killed 10,000 of Keisha’s men but can’t seem to bring him out. When Shin suggests using Duke Hyou as bait to draw out Keisha then the Hi Shin Unit kill Keisha Duke Hyou agrees. But the plan never came to fruition because after the Duke charged the center Keisha saw the Hi Shin Unit and retreated. After Mou Bu killed Kan Mei and his army destroyed their HQs. The Qin soldiers started reinforcing the other battlefields. When Heki reaches the Duke Hyou Zhao war he used a type of psychological warfare to assist the Duke against the Kou Son Ryuu Army to the right. Shortly after the Zhao army retreated. Later that evening Duke Hyou told Shin their still missing something to make the Coalition Army go back home. On the 16th day, Duke Hyou noticed some dust cloud and left his post at Kankoku Pass to chase it thinking Ri Boku was leading it. In response to Ri Boku's plan to attack the second, less defended entrance of the Qin capital, Duke Hyou quickly flanked the Ri Boku Army. When Riboku notices this he set up Ryuudou to separate the Duke from his men but by using his instinctual abilities he was able to penetrate through to the center of Ri Boku's Ryuudou strategy. Ri Boku stops and complimented Duke Hyou's abilities as an instinctual general but he reveals that the end of the Ryuudou was a trap just in case someone breaks through. Houken is revealed to be the "trump card" of Ri Boku. Duke Hyou orders his men to kill Riboku while he duels with Hou Ken, Duke Hyou is overpowered most of the fight and when he hears Shin screaming his name he threw his Shield at him tells him to go FORWARD towards Kanyou. Duke Hyou then lost his arm to Houken but he later proceeded to break Houken arm and told Shin “'don’t ever let your fire die out'” before he’s slain. Abilities |t1=2nd Stats |1= }} Duke Hyou is a great general who displays physical prowess worthy of the title he holds. His skill is on par with the Six Great Generals, but he turned down the position many times. He is strong enough to break through an enemy infantry unit, killing about 15 men single-handedly with the first strike of his weapon and his arm strength is sufficient enough to cut a man in half effortlessly. General Ou Ki also acknowledged that Duke Hyou's fighting prowess is at a high enough level to give him a run for his money. According to Go Hou Mei, the Duke's way of positioning and using troops is completely opposite of the proper, he does exactly what is considered foolish by common teaching. He sends many of his men to die for nothing. However, on the other hand, he is able to win every vital clash on the battlefield allowing him to make up for the earlier losses. As a general, he uses his instinct to decide how he fights his opponents. He does this by reading the movement of enemy armies and intuitively decides accordingly what the best course of action is. During a celebratory drink with the Hi Shin Unit, he tells that warfare is a living thing and therefore it is impossible to make predictions until the battle starts, causing there to be no outlook. He follows up with that there is only one important thing; "that is whether or not the '''Firestarter' will be able to arrive at the location where a Fire can be Ignited". The Duke's style of combat is to commit troops to large offensives often resulting in massive casualties. Doing so however he creates a lively battlefield which he intuitively reads looking at openings, key targets or opportunities as a point to "light a fire". Once a fire has been identified he will commit his troops to exploit this opening in an attempt to turn the opportunity into a decisive victory. Often leading from the front, the Duke has been shown leaping into thousands of men and leading passionate charges, drawing out a great deal of strength from his men. Ri Boku likens the Duke to a lion or predator and notes that this tendency can upset many generals whose strengths lay in being tacticians. Key to note is the Duke's victories over Go Kei and his ability to surprise attack Riboku. He is also capable of using basic tricks on the battlefield like moving away from his own flags. Though it should be noted that, similar to Ren Pa, due to the focus on Duke Hyou himself this tactic becomes even more effective. Another key strength of the Duke is his leadership abilities, wherein the actively nurtures Shin's growth during the Battle of Kankoku Pass. As well as inspiring his men to fight like demons. Outside of combat, he was noted to be able to brew a liquor that was so strong that it was able to make even Ou Ki blink in astonishment. He also had an extremely high tolerance of alcohol as it took ten men from the Hi Shin Unit to drink half a bowl of his special liquor before passing out while he was able to drink one bowl in one go while still remaining coherent. This feat was so remarkable that the Hi Shin Unit wondered if he was even human. Duels *vs. Go Kei: won *vs. Hou Ken: lost Gallery |t2=Anime |2= }} Lines From Baku Koshin: "I know no other man as formidable at warfare as him". Category:Deceased Characters Category:Male Category:Qin Category:Commanders-in-Chief Category:Great Generals Category:Instinctual Great Generals Category:Qin Great Generals Category:Duke Hyou Army Category:Cavalry Category:Glaive Users Category:Shield Users Category:Article stubs Category:Coalition Generals Category:War Mask Users